Ping to Corpus: You can withdraw all the money

Embattled Sen. Panfilo Lacson signed yesterday a special power of attorney authorizing his arch critic Col. Victor Corpus, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), to withdraw all his alleged deposits in foreign banks.

"If he could find anything, if he could withdraw any amount, I will pack my things and go straight to jail without trial," Lacson said.

Opposition senators, meanwhile, threatened to gang up on Corpus for using public funds to demolish one of their colleagues.

On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda said the Blue Ribbon Committee would spearhead the joint investigation on Lacson.

Lacson said his issuance of a special power of attorney was the only thing he could think of to put to rest the controversy over his alleged $700-million bank accounts in Hong Kong, Canada, New York and Las Vegas.

He denied maintaining any overseas dollar accounts, and flaunted a certification by Citibank-Hong Kong that belied he was a depositor of the bank.

"In the long run, he will be cornered. He will have no place to go because he identified the numbers," Lacson said of Corpus.

Lacson refused to hand out to reporters copies of his special power of attorney, saying he would do it after Corpus has signed the document and a lawyer notarizes it.

For his part, Corpus said Lacson "did not know what he was talking about" when the neophyte senator described the ISAFP chief as lazy and stupid.Pro-administration Sen. Renato Cayetano expressed doubts that the banks would honor such authorization.

Cayetano hinted that a special power of attorney is normally used when opening a bank account, not for purposes of withdrawing deposits. "A bank might question the document and refuse to honor it because it is not a normal procedure after the opening of the account," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Corpus has a lot of explaining to do regarding his role in the demolition job against Lacson.

"We should know who are the people manipulating him at the expense of the opposition," Pimentel said.

Sen. Robert Barbers argued, however, that the probe on Lacson started while before the May 14 elections where Lacson won as an opposition candidate, and so should not be viewed as politically motivated.

Meanwhile, Corpus took exception to Lacson’s allegations that he was lazy and stupid.

"If I am lazy, then I would not have gathered all these evidence, and if I am stupid, I would not have known his various bank accounts abroad," Corpus said in a radio interview.

Corpus pointed out that he has no ax to grind against Lacson as they never worked together in the past.

In another development, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez dared Lacson and Sen. Luisa Ejercito to allow investigators to do their job freely if they really had no rich dollar accounts abroad.

"To put the issue to rest, Senators Lacson and Estrada should give an authorization to the DOJ (Department of Justice) or even Colonel Corpus allowing them to check these accounts. If there is no such thing, then this will come out in the investigation," Perez said.

"Kung walang account doon si Senator Lacson, walang mawawala sa kanya (If Lacson really did not have any account there, he has nothing to lose)," Perez said.

He added that the only way the probers can look at the bank accounts would be through a subpoena from the governments of the countries where they are held.

The secretary has said he would write a letter of request for assistance in the inquiry to the US government, invoking the bilateral Mutual Assistance Treaty in Criminal Cases.

Perez also denied Lacson’s allegations that he himself revealed to the senator the secret probe on the dollar accounts.

"I never talked about the letter that we sent to the (US) DOJ, but he himself brought it out to the media to the effect that we are asking him to be investigated in connection with his alleged deposits of more than $500 million," Perez said.

He said he was surprised Lacson knew about the probe. "We never mentioned any amount in our letter. Again, It was a surprise that he was the one who mentioned the amount," Perez added.

In another development, Lacson found an unlikely ally in Sanlakas which challenged the Arroyo administration to substantiate its charges against the neophyte senator, or be suspected that they were trying to muzzle the opposition.

"The administration must prove us wrong by producing damning evidence to jail Lacson, lest this commotion is just a propaganda war against its political rivals," Sanlakas president Wilson Fortaleza said.

Fortaleza said the allegations against Lacson may just be aimed at covering up irregularities in the government.

He underscored, however, the need for Lacson to answer the allegations.

On the other hand, the militant Bagong Alyasang Makabayan (Bayan) batted for the expulsion of Lacson from the Senate.

"Lacson brings the Senate to its lowest depths since the 11 pro-Estrada senators scuttled the impeachment trial. He deserves to be investigated and expelled," Bayan secretary general Teodoro Casiño said.

Casiño feared that Lacson might eventually be elected as president like his former boss.

The pro-Estrada People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) picked up the cudgels for Lacson and Estrada by claiming the latest attacks were merely meant to invalidate overwhelming vote that installed Estrada as president in 1998.

PMAP leader Ronald Lomibao chastised pro-administration senators for grilling Lacson on Corpus’ allegations.

"They are now scrambling to investigate Lacson but they continue to refuse suggestions to investigate the First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo," Lomibao said. — With reports from Delon Porcalla, Nestor Etolle, Mayen Jaymalin, Sandy Araneta, Romel Bagares